Researchers at the Children’s Cancer Institute and UNSW Sydney have tested a new way of treating childhood brain cancer by combining two medicines in lab studies. They found using the two treatments together may work better than using either on its own. The research is published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

In the new study, Children’s Cancer Institute and UNSW Sydney researchers lab-tested a combined therapy approach on a group of difficult-to-treat brain tumors: diffuse midline gliomas (DMG). This group includes diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), a rare but fatal childhood brain cancer. Children diagnosed with DIPG usually survive for about 12 months.

UNSW Conjoint Professor David Ziegler and UNSW Conjoint Associate Professor Maria Tsoli led the study. They have been working for many years to find better treatments for DIPG.